My daily readings 02/04/2010

One of the largest complaints I hear from my students is that the lost their notes. They either don’t know where they put the paper or it got thrown away by mistake. The same thing goes for homework. Students tend to not be very organized, but how can you blame them? They have grown up in a digital world. They are used to having the things saved automatically on a computer or iPod. If they need to find something they just do a keyword search and it finds it form them.

And then there is the iPad. Imagine students using a stylus instead of a pen or pencil as they take notes in class. Their handwritten notes get converted automatically into a legible computer font. The file gets saved with the date, subject, and keywords automatically recognized by the note taking app. The same thing can be done for homework as well. The students could also easily annotate their digital textbooks by highlighting and underlining keywords and phrases. The students will no longer miss their notes. No longer will they have to spend lots of time copying notes they missed when they were absent. Their friend could just email the notes very quickly. And the notes are LEGIBLE! Is it magic? No. It’s the power of the iPad with powerful apps designed for note taking.

And then there is the iPad. A teacher wants to give the students a worksheet to complete. The teacher sends the worksheet to the students either through a digital scan or through a natively digital worksheet to the students’ iPads. If the students use the stylus, it automatically converts their work into a readable font. If the students use the integrated, or external keyboard, the answers can be typed directly into the available slots. Teachers don’t have to worry about the lack of computers since each student has their own iPad. It’s great! Once the students are done, they can digitally submit the worksheet to the teacher. Since the student writing was automatically translated into a readable font, these could be graded automatically for the teacher as well. Correct answers could immediately be given to the students as well. Feedback is key when it comes to teaching.

Now, the size of the impact of becoming totally paperless will depend heavily on the successful development and deployment of appropriate iPad apps with these goals in mind. The technology is there; it only needs to be packaged accordingly.

In the future, there could even be possible iPad apps that facilitate online study groups for students. They will no longer have to go to a common meeting place in order to study together. This could greatly increase the likelihood of study groups forming. The only problem is the current iPads lack webcams and microphones. Possibly in the future iterations of the iPad these will come standard. But even without these two features, collaborative studying could easily been done and shared through chatting and a shared workspace where they can draw out their ideas and illustrations.

By actively embracing and integrating the iPad into the classroom students will be more interested in class, if for nothing else than the chance to use technology to help them learn.

The students could also collaborate with their peers as they work through the curriculum. In this way the teacher begins to facilitate a more student-centered classroom instead of a teacher-center classroom built around lectures. Students would no longer become bored because they do not understand the material or because the teacher is going too slow. Education can truly become personalized. This can all be thanks, in part, to the iPad and the iPad app developers.

What I have noticed personally is a change within myself from a consumer of knowledge to a producer of knowledge. Watching TV does not allow me to interact with knowledge, allow me to leave a comment, remix it into my own words, or interact with the author in a true and meaningful way.

iBooks, the iPad’s built-in e-reader, needs some work before it can be a viable replacement to textbooks (or, to a degree, existing devices like the Kindle). From what I’ve read there are no included annotation tools, so readers can’t highlight passages or make notes in the virtual margins. My guess is that Apple will address this in future software updates.

For one thing, it’s much less likely to be loaded up with the junk and viruses computer lab managers must constantly be aware of. Apple allows network administrators to remotely reset iPhones; it’s plausible this technology could make its way to the iPad as well.

Put an iPhone-like camera in the thing and the iPad could make for the most compelling uses of augmented reality yet. Imagine pointing a camera to a painting or other museum piece and instantly getting more information about the subject or being able to instantly do further research online.

Students could use the iPad to collect data as well, in the field or science lab.

Early into Wednesday’s iPad demonstration, I mentioned to someone that the device appeared to be geared more toward content consumption than content creation.

Need something more practical? Apple’s take on an office suite, called iWork, has been ported to the iPad. I’m looking forward to creating Keynote slides using the device’s multitouch interface and also look forward to seeing how Numbers, iWork’s spreadsheet application, responds to my finger as opposed to a mouse. It will be interesting to see if the iPad’s touch interface revolutionizes the ways we interact with computers and create content on them, the way the mouse did nearly 30 years ago. At any rate, it looks like Apple and third party software publishers are already considering ways to use the iPad for creating original material.

Excellent thoughts. I hadn’t thought of the possible data collection applications. As a person who reads journal articles almost exclusively on my laptop, I don’t yet see me switching over to a smaller device for that purpose or for textbooks. The reading process I use for professional “stuff” needs more power (multiple applications, bibliographic and note-taking software, etc). Someday though, when I have time to read for leisure again, I definitely see this type of device in my future.

I don’t think it’s ready for the power researcher (and by “researcher” I mean “person reading research”)–yet. For most of those features I think it’s just a matter of time. As an aside not related directly to the iPad but to journals in general, I think someday they’re going to have to acknowledge that we’re moving to a digital world and quit operating in a solely paper (and PDF by adjunct) world. I also think that we’ll see more direct interfaces between journal databases and e-reader devices like the iPad, Kindle, and Nook.

Compare – Amazon Kindle at $259 or the Barnes and Noble nook at $259 to the Apple iPad at $499.
Why would you buy something that does just one thing when you can buy a device that does a whole lot more for just a little more?

For many years, Apple has had a very strong foothold in educational facilities the World over. Their simple, reliable computers have served students well before they step out into the big bad World.
There are many educational establishments that even give students and teachers Apple Laptops to use while in school, some places include the price of a Laptop in the tuition. Why? well, so that said student can email, reference the Internet, write up and submit work and not a lot more – right? All completely possible on the iPad!

Compare – Amazon Kindle at $259 or the Barnes and Noble nook at $259 to the Apple iPad at $499.
Why would you buy something that does just one thing when you can buy a device that does a whole lot more for just a little more?

For many years, Apple has had a very strong foothold in educational facilities the World over. Their simple, reliable computers have served students well before they step out into the big bad World.
There are many educational establishments that even give students and teachers Apple Laptops to use while in school, some places include the price of a Laptop in the tuition. Why? well, so that said student can email, reference the Internet, write up and submit work and not a lot more – right? All completely possible on the iPad!

If I were a college or university, I’d be looking into how I can get the majority of my text books in e-book format and in the App store. Then I’d be looking into how many iPads I can get my hands on so that the students can click once to download (and buy) the necessary books to their issued Apple iPad.

There have even been conversations on Twitter regarding Apple and e-text-books, many responses were to the positive. Convenience and cost seem to rule.

What do you think about ipad text books? are ‘real text books’ a thing of the past?

We already have ways to consumer information in education. Consuming information has never been our issue. What we need help with is teaching students how to become producers of information and knowledge.

Today, Bantam Live, is launching the commercial version of its social CRM workspace and is rolling out premium features of its product. Bantam Live provides an online workspace for business teams that has “social CRM” features, which include a real-time dashboard stream of messaging and workflow activity along with a native CRM application. Members can share information, track activity, and manage contact and company relationships both inside and outside the organization via a real-time activity stream.

Omni’s software excel at list making, planning, brainstorming, diagramming – coupling their sophistication with a readily available user-friendly interface may be what it finally takes to keep me paper free.

Also of note, EverNote (www.evernote.com) is also a great notetaking app that is free!